11 Secrets Your Skin Wishes You Knew

These tips for showering, moisturizing, and even eating will help you get the complexion you want.

Don’t rub your eyes

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I’m thinnest here. At only about 0.05 mm thick—half the thickness of computer paper—I get tiny tears in capillaries from all that manhandling, making me look discolored and older. These are the 17 skin-care tips dermatologists use themselves.

Try not to scratch!

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During cooler months, the dry air sucks moisture out through my top layer, which makes me irritated. Literally. Dryness triggers an inflammatory response: Immune cells as well as pro-inflammatory proteins and other enzymes go wild, activating itch receptors that send signals to your brain. I know it feels good for a second—scratching may engage pleasure and reward centers in the brain. But if you keep at it, I’ll get even more inflamed, which will cause those itch receptors to refire. And a vicious circle continues. All. Winter. Long. These are surprising signs of disease that your skin can reveal.

Sources: Chris G. Adigun, MD, dermatologist in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina; Nada Elbuluk, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Dermatology, NYU Langone Medical Center; Mona Gohara, MD, associate clinical professor of dermatology, Yale School of Medicine; Elizabeth K. Hale, MD, clinical associate professor at the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology, NYU Langone Medical Center; Brian Kim, MD, of the Center for the Study of Itch, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis; Gil Yosipovitch, MD, director of the Temple Itch Center, Temple University School of Medicine